Who believes that Moms Job Could Boost Babys Odds for Birth Defect?
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/EnvironmentalHealth/17643 Published: December 21, 2009 Mom’s Job May Increase Risk of Birth Defects By Kristina Fiore, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner The offspring of custodians and chemists may be at greater risk for some birth defects than children of parents with other occupations, researchers say. In a survey of mothers of children with birth defects, those who were janitors or scientists were more likely to have children with certain conditions, Michele Herdt-Losavio, PhD, of the New York State Department of Health, and colleagues reported online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. Herdt-Losavio said her team didn’t assess what factors may account for this associatio
Among working women in the United States, teachers seem to have the lowest risk of having babies with birth defects, while those who work as janitors, scientists and electronic-equipment operators appear most at risk, researchers say. The study looked at nearly 9,000 babies born with single or multiple birth defects, such as those affecting the eye, ear, gastrointestinal tract and mouth and face, among others. The study also included almost 3,400 children who had none of the 45 different types of birth defects considered. The researchers tried to determine if a link existed between the likelihood of birth defects in the children, who were born between October 1997 and December 2003, and their mothers’ jobs. More than three-quarters of the women had paid jobs during the period from one month before pregnancy through the first trimester. Women who were cleaners or janitors, operators of electronic equipment and scientists were at “significantly” higher risk of having a child with birth d
